Seven Seconds
by MeGkAtHeRiNe
Summary: The Hotchner clan and friends are out for Christmas shopping at the local mall when little Brooklyn Hotchner goes missing from plain sight. Prompt from CRIMINALMINDS.jjemilyhotchfan. Oh! And have a holly, jolly christmas ;
1. Chapter 1

A/N - Merry Christmas everyone

...

Emily smiled slightly when she laid her eyes on all the Christmas decorations around, feeling Brooke's hand tighten around hers, and she quickly bent down to get the young girl's bangs out of her eyes. "What is it sweetie?"

Brooklyn's big brown eyes looked to her mother and she bit her lip. "There are lots of people here, mommy."

Emily kissed her girl's pale forehead and she smoothed her fingers over the her small hand. "Sweetie, this isn't your first time to the mall. It's not that bad you know." She turned on her knees and pointed to a couple kids running around on a playground. "You can go and play over there if you wanna."

Brooklyn's young eyes widened with happiness as she saw a little kid being pushed on a swing by her mother, and a couple other kids taking turns on the slides. "Can I go! Please PLEASE?"

Emily chuckled as she felt her husband's hand land on her back. "Honey, keep your voice down ok? You can go, but Jack and Henry have to go with you. Along with Aunt Penny."

"But mommy!"

Emily shook her head slightly when she saw her daughter's lip coming out to a pout. "No, that's the deal. Either you go with your brother, Henry and Aunty Penny, or you can come with me and daddy and all the others to buy gifts and lunch. Now, which is it?" She watched as her daughter's doe like eyes widened slightly as she thought. "Got one yet?"

"Play with Aunt Penny!"

Emily bit her lip as she giggled, smoothing down her daughter's bangs and braids. "Ok, sounds good." She stood, Brooklyn's smaller hand still in hers as she looked to the redhead in the bright green dress. "PG, can you take the kids and play with them over on the playground? Brooke doesn't really wanna walk much more and we all still have presents to get."

"Of course my lady in red!"

Emily's eyes scrunched as she looked down at her wardrobe. "I'm in purple and black, Penelope."

Garcia's eyes darkened as she scurried over to her brunette friend, her mouth going straight for the woman's ear. "I saw those panties you put on for Mr. Hotchner. You are SO the lady in red, my Miss Scarlet Letter."

Emily's eyes widened as she chuckled nervously, her cheeks reddening as her friend's smile widened and her husband's laughter erupted from behind her. "Ok! Play time!" She kissed Brooklyn's forehead before giving her small hand to Garcia's. "Why don't we meet over by McDonald's in about an hour or two? We'll all probably be hungry by then."

Garcia smiled wide before looking from the tiny brunette next to her to the two boys by their fathers. "Come on chicklings! We're going to play and have fun, and roam like cattle!"

Emily groaned as she felt her husband's arm wrap around her shoulders. "Garcia, our children are not cattle."

Her smile immediately faded as she felt Brooklyn's arms wrap around her waist and Henry poke at her dress. "But Bossman!"

"He's right Penny." Kevin came up from his hiding position by Morgan and stood next to his girlfriend. "What about when we have kids? You aren't gonna want them to be called cattle, right?"

Garcia's eyes lit up before kissing her nerdy boyfriend on his nose. "You wanna have kids?"

"Well, y-yes. That is I-if you wanna! I m-mean if you d-don't then never mind, I don't w-want them! Everything's up t-to you, darling."

The group laughed at Kevin's widened eyes, and watched as the two took the kids over to the playground. Emily then looked up to her husband and held the hand that lay on her shoulder. "You ready to go and get more presents?"

Hotch nodded, hearing the groups bickering as they all started to move throughout the floor. "I think I am." He held her next to him and waited until everyone else was just a little farther ahead.

"Aaron? Why aren't we moving?"

Hotch grinned before pulling her body to his, his lips descending on hers. He chuckled as she smiled instantly, her arms going around his neck.

"EW! Grownup spit!"

Both Hotchners pulled away and looked over to the playground, where both Brooklyn and Jack were making disgusted faces.

Hotch chuckled as he leaned his forehead against his wife's, his eyes lighting up as he saw her smile up at him. "Ready to go shopping for the kids?"

Emily bit her lip as she giggled, letting his arm encircle her waist. "I am beyond ready. Let's go!"

…

Two hours and fifteen minutes, Emily was smiling as her husband's grip on her hand tightened and her ears were filled with the sounds of Spencer Reid and Derek Morgan lightly arguing about television behind her. "So, how do you think Brookie and Jack are?"

Hotch nodded as he tried to level the five bags in his one hand. "They're with Kevin and Penelope, and don't forget Jack. They probably didn't even notice we're a tad late."

Both adults immediately froze when there was a voice over the loudspeaker.

"Brooklyn Faith Hotchner, please report to the customer service desk over by the upstairs bathrooms. Brooklyn Faith Hotchner, please come to the customer service desk by the upstairs bathrooms, by the large McDonalds sign."

Both Morgan and Rossi looked to the wide eyed brunette couple, their mouths wide as they watched them quickly run off down the mall floor.

Hotch and Emily quickly reached the customer service desk, their equally brown eyes hardening on the young redhead behind the counter. "We're here about Brooklyn Hotchner."

The young girl looked up from the computer, her nametag declaring her as 'Abby', her eyes immediately looking relieved. "Oh thank goodness! Have you two found her?"

Emily felt her eyes bug out as her grip on the bags in her hand loosened, feeling her husband's hand tightening around her arm. "What do you mean 'found'? Where the hell is she!"

"I'm so sorry, she's been missing for the past twenty minutes."

"WHAT?"

Abby's eyes widened as she looked at the angered couple. "I'm sorry, who are you two?"

Hotch felt his eyes harden as Emily let out a sob into his neck. "We're her parents. Emily and Aaron Hotchner." He ran his fingers through his wife's hair as he felt his jaw clench. "What happened to our daughter?"


	2. Chapter 2

Abby stared at the couple with sadness before shaking her head. "I'm sorry Mr. and Mrs. Hotchner, but that's what we're trying to figure out. We don't know where she is yet and we have no idea what's happened to her."

Emily bit her lip as her tears strolled down her cheeks, her voice characteristically strong for a moment like this. "Where is the couple that was watching Brooklyn?"

The young girl pointed to the door where Garcia and Kevin immediately came racing in, Henry and Jack in their arms. Both Hotchners immediately turned around, not giving either of them a chance to speak. "Garcia, where is Brooke?"

The sobbing redhead held a sniffling Jack against her chest, her curls flying as she shook her head. "Bossman I am so so so so so so so sorry!"

Emily grunted as she dropped her purse to the ground next to their other bags, her hands grabbing her crying son from her friend's arms, her voice as shrill as anyone would suspect. "WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?"

Garcia let out a sob as she saw her friend's frustrated features. "I don't know! I turned my back for only a tiny second an-"

"You turned your back? On THREE children? How the fuck could you be so stupid, Penelope?"

Kevin gave a confused Henry to Hotch, watching a few tears roll down the man's cheeks as Emily continued to yell at the sobbing redhead. "Agent Hotchner I'm so sorry. All we did was drop a book, and when we went to pick it up, both boys came running to us and were complaining that they couldn't find Brooklyn."

Hotch shook his head as he bounced Henry on his hip, his anger shown greatly in his eyes. "Take me to the last place you all were together."

Kevin immediately nodded his head before Emily grabbed his arm, his eyes widening on the angry woman. "Y-Yeah?"

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"I was j-just taking Aaron to where w-we were last with Brooklyn."

Emily immediately cast her angry eyes on her husband as Kevin shrunk away to stand by Penelope. "You're leaving me here with the woman who lost our daughter? Do you think that's a smart idea, Aaron?"

"Emily that woman is your best friend."

"Well my 'best friend' couldn't keep her fucking eyes on our daughter for a couple fucking hours, and now she's gone! She's gone Aaron!"

Hotch shook his head before kissing his wife on her forehead, wiping the tears cascading down her cheeks. "We will find her, I promise you that Emily. I swear to you we will. But for right now we have to do what we do best, and figure out who, if anybody, took our daughter."

Emily nodded slowly before watching her husband make a quick decision by pulling Penelope out with him and Henry, leaving her to sob into her son's neck while both Kevin and Abby gave their saddened eyes her attention.

Kevin looked out into the hallway to see all their friends standing in the doorway, their eyes wide and sad.

"Kevin?"

He turned his head and his eyes widened as Emily took him into a hug, Jack being smushed between them. As she let herself sob into his neck, he gently wrapped his arms around her waist, rubbing her back nice and slow.

"What am I going to do?"

"I don't know, Emily. I'm sorry."


	3. Chapter 3

Aaron Hotchner gave a loud sigh as he felt Henry tightening his arms around his large neck, his light brown eyes searching the playground Penelope had led him to. "Garcia I need you to show me the last place she was."

Garcia immediately nodded as she rushed over to the swirly slide over by the monkey bars, passing through large groups of children with her tall heels smacking against the ground. She pointed down to a spot on the rubber floor, covered with orange splatter paint. "This is where she was when I last saw her, sir. She was all happy and smiley…"

"Was she speaking with anyone?"

"Not technically. It looked like she was talking to someone under the slide, but I just assumed it was an imaginary friend or something. Has she ever had one?"

Hotch nodded as he rubbed his hand up and down Henry's small back. "Since she was four. Emily and I have been trying to get her off the fact, but she hasn't really let go of her yet."

"Her?"

"The imaginary friend. Her name is Holly."

Garcia's eyes widened, her legs feeling wobbly beneath her. "Did Holly have an imaginary father?"

Hotch's eyebrows furrowed as he looked to his friend. "I don't remember, why?"

"When me and my Kevy were pushing her on the swing she said she saw someone that looked like her friend's daddy. When I asked who she said, 'he looks just like Donald'."

The older man's eyes widened as his mind raced to try and find that specific point in time when he had heard his daughter utter that name. "…Strawberry Fields."

Garcia shook her head. "Huh?"

"Strawberry Fields! Emily and I took the kids to New York last Christmas and I was carrying Brooklyn on my shoulders. The snow was really heavy so we all had our hoods and gloves on, and when we got towards Shakespeare Park, Brooke pointed someone out that she thought looked like Holly's dad. Donald."

The redhead shook her head and ran her fingers through her curls, tears escaping her big eyes. "Hotchie I am so sorry. I don't know where she went."

Hotch gave a sigh before turning his head to the small boy poking his shoulder. "What is it, Henry?"

The small blond boy looked to his uncle and shrugged his shoulders. "I sawed her leave, Uncle Aaron."

Both adults immediately let their eyebrows shoot up into their hairlines. "When did you see her leave, Henry?"

"When me's and Jack was goin' down the slide! She was with Mr. Donald."


	4. Chapter 4

Emily shook her head as her feet quickly paced the small security room Kevin had taken her to. Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip and she shivered as she sucked the blood into her mouth, her eyes tearing as she heard her son softly singing to himself. "Where are they? She and Aaron should be back by now with information."

Kevin looked to the brunette from his seat next to Jack, watching as the security guard in the room sadly shook his head. "Maybe they're finding people and asking if they've seen her. Like JJ does on the news, you know?"

The brunette turned to glare at the younger man as she stopped her steps. "They should be searching the damn scene!"

"Emily, it's not a murder investigation."

Emily's eyes immediately watered, her mouth opening wide "I cannot believe you would say something like that to me."

Kevin shook his head before standing, walking quickly over to the woman and putting his hands on her shaking shoulders. "No no Emily, please don't cry. I didn't mean it like that. We know she's going to be alright." He brought her chin up so her tearing eyes looked straight into his. "She's your daughter. You both have a special connection. What do you feel?"

Emily's heart began to calm down as she looked into the brunette's eyes, her lip going in between her teeth as she took a breath. "She's going to be ok."

The younger man immediately smiled before bringing his friend into a hug, kissing her cheek as he felt her arms wrap around his neck. "There you go, Em. She's going to be fine, I promise."

"I just want to find her, Kevin."

His heart broke when he heard her wails become muffled by his shoulder. "Shh. Emily you have to calm down. For both your kids."

Emily's eyes opened before looking over her friend's shoulder, watching as Jack looked up from his lap. "Are you ok mommy?"

The brunette quickly wiped her eyes before moving away from Kevin, rushing over to her stepson and kneeling before him, bringing him into a hug. "Mommy's just fine, darling. We're going to find little Brookie and everything's going to be ok."

Jack let his fingers wipe under his mother's eye. "I know that mommy. Brooke is real smart."

Emily smiled softly at the young boy before whipping her head around, watching as JJ and Spencer both walked through the door. She quickly stood and ran to her friend, grabbing the blonde's shoulders as her eyes widened. "Did they find her? Did they find my baby?"

JJ's bright eyes immediately darkened before laying her hand to the older woman's damp cheek. "Honey, they're still looking. Hotch and Garcia are with Henry at the playground and Rossi's outside with the press."

The brunette's eyes widened as she shook her head. "The press? Why is the press in this?"

"Em, Brooklyn is the daughter of two nationally known FBI agents. She's top of her class in school and her big brother was part of his birth mother's murder investigation years ago." She sighed when she watched Emily place a hand over her mouth. "It hit top news an hour after she went missing."


	5. Chapter 5

Rossi shook his head as the reporters continued to crowd around, a blond woman just in front of him holding her microphone right to his lips. "Agent Rossi is it true that Brooklyn Faith Hotchner, daughter of Agents Emily and Aaron Hotchner, has been kidnapped and now hasn't been seen or rescued for over an hour?"

"I'm sorry, but I cannot answer that."

"Agent Rossi! How's the new book coming?"

His eyes immediately hardened on the brunette woman, and felt his muscles de-stress slightly when she shrunk back into the crowd with a frown. "Any relatable questions?"

A blond man nodded his head towards the famous agent and writer before him. "Is it true that Brooklyn Hotchner was taken by her friend's own father?"

Rossi looked to the man, his eyebrow raised before slowly shaking his head. "We've not heard of any news that pertains to people who know of the Hotchner family."

"Dave!"

The older man turned his head from the buzzing reporters to see JJ and Reid waving at him from the mall entrance doors. "Thank you ladies and gentlemen but I'm being called back right now. Thank you for your time and we'll be sure to get back to you with more." He gave one last nod before making his way back into the four story building, hearing the screeches and hollers from the reporters just outside the doors. "JJ, please talk to them next time."

The blond gave a sad smile before thrusting a piece of paper in the older agent's hands. "Emily made Kevin search every patron that had been here from the time we got here and the time Brooke was taken. These are the ones with backgrounds worth checking up on."

Rossi looked to the liaison and shook his head. "How did Kevin find all of these names?"

"He searched every man and woman who had used their credit card."

"What about the people who maybe paid with cash?"

The young doctor's eyes narrowed on the senior agent. "What person, other than yourself, carries hundreds or even thousands of dollars in their pocket?"

Rossi let out a chuckle. "Good point."

…

Emily let her hands run down her face, her fingertips swiping across the dried tears stains that lay against her pale cheeks. She had been running over and over again in her head why someone would take her precious baby girl.

She shook her head, not thinking of anything that anyone would want from Brooklyn or the family.

"Em!"

Emily turned and gave a sigh of relief, letting her husband engulf her in a tight embrace before a subtle sob erupted from the back of her throat. Her eyes looked up to the ceiling as if she could see the heavens right there before her, and let another tear fall down her cheek. "Did you find her?"

Hotch shook his head against his wife's neck, his anger rising once again at the thought of someone having their hands on his little girl. "We're going to, Em. I know we will."

The brunette sucked her bottom lip between her teeth before giving a nod, backing away from the older man before pointing behind her. "I had the security guards let Kevin on their computer and search up every man and woman that got here when we did."

Hotch's eyes widened before looking towards the information desk. "Abby!"

The younger woman looked up from her paperwork and tried to smile at the saddened man. "Can I help you, Mr. Hotchner?"

"Where's the head of security?"

Abby pointed to the man standing by the entrance door. "His name is Roger Banks, he used to be lead detective for NYPD."

Hotch felt his wife's eyes on him as he gave a nod to the younger woman behind the desk before walking over to the officer by the doors that led to the upper level of the mall. "I'm Agent Aaron Hotchner, and the missing girl Brooklyn is my daughter."

Banks sadly nodded to the younger man. "I'm so sorry, Agent Hotchner."

"I need you to shut down the building."

His eyes widened on the agent before him. "Excuse me?"

Hotch's eyes hardened on the security guard as he felt Emily's hand softly grasp his. "I need you to contact all of your security and have them close all entrances and exits to this building. If we're going to find my daughter, we need the perpetrator locked inside with us." His shoulders stiffened when the older gentleman took his walkie talkie from its holster. "Do you understand me, Mr. Banks?"

"Yes. Yes sir."


End file.
